


Secret Santa: A WCPL Side Story

by AGirlNamedEd



Series: West City Public Library [6]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: (of the main fic), Alternate Universe - Library, M/M, Pre-Canon, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 16:51:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13035384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGirlNamedEd/pseuds/AGirlNamedEd
Summary: Bulma organised a Secret Santa for the WCPL staff, and Yamcha was unfortunate enough to draw his crush's name. Now he has to do a bunch of anonymous good deeds for Tien without letting him know that he likes him.Shenanigans ensue.





	Secret Santa: A WCPL Side Story

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my real-world public library AU, but takes place about three years before the established canon. Therefore certain characters (like Piccolo and Jaco) aren't present, but other characters (like Agnes) are. Also characters hold different positions at this point in the timeline--Bulma isn't the CEO yet, for example, and none of the main characters are the heads of their departments.
> 
> Higashi="East" in Japanese, and is what East Kai is known as in this fic.  
> Kita="North" in Japanese, and is what King Kai is known as in this fic (since he's technically the North Kai).  
> Maybe other Kais will show up later, who knows. But at this point most of the department heads are Kais, with Grand Kai being the CEO.

"It's pretty simple," Bulma explained, shaking the Santa hat. "Whichever name you get, you have to do a bunch of anonymous nice things for all next week. It doesn't have to be expensive--in fact your budget for the whole week is $15, so don't go crazy or anything. But you know, maybe make coffee for them on your break and leave it at their desk when they're not looking. Or make lunch for them one day. Decorate their work area. You know. Little things like that."

Krillin raised his hand. "Do we eventually get to find out who our Secret Santa was or do we live in suspense for the rest of our lives?"

Lapis laughed and Bulma rolled her eyes. "No, Krillin. Next Friday at the staff party everyone should bring one last little thing for their Secret Santa and give it to them in person. So you'll need to have at least one thing a day--that should be six total, including the gift for the staff party. It'll start on Monday." She shoved the Santa hat forward. "Okay, guys, pick your poison!"

Sighing, Yamcha reached into the hat. He just couldn't really get into the holiday spirit this year. Maybe it was because he was still reeling from his final breakup with Bulma, or maybe it was just because it was a week and a half into December and it still hadn't snowed yet. It was annoying. Usually he was all over Christmas. It hadn't been his favourite holiday growing up, but he could enjoy it a lot more now that he could go buy his own shitty candy cane Oreos anytime he wanted.

Actually, Yamcha was pretty sure he knew why he was having a hard time getting into things lately. As he pulled his hand back with a slip of paper inside, he glanced at Tien from the corner of his eye. His stupid little crush on Tien was going nowhere, and he was doing his best to accept that and move on, but that was always easier said than done. Hell, his issues with moving on were half the reason he'd let his relationship with Bulma drag on so long. Unfortunately, his feelings for Tien were getting in the way and bogging him down. That made it hard to get into anything else--like Christmas--and he was stuck in a vicious circle.

Yamcha retreated to a corner to check out the name on his paper. He'd have to come up with a few things to do for them...hopefully this would be just what he needed to kickstart his holiday spirit and he could finally scrounge up the energy to start decorating his apartment.

As he read the name on the paper, though, he felt his legs wobble. There, in Bulma's bright blue scrawl, was the name _Tien Shinhan_.

Yamcha was going to _die_.

~~~

Yamcha drummed his fingers on the desk and stared into space. He had to do at least five nice things for Tien anonymously, then get him a present. God, what did Tien even want? He mostly worked in the Circulation office or out in the stacks, so decorating his workspace was pretty much out of the question. There was no way Yamcha could sneak into the Circulation office while Tien wasn't there long enough to decorate, anyway. He'd have to stick with leaving little anonymous presents around.

Except that brought him back to his original problem. What did Tien want? Or need, even? Cleaner for his reading glasses? Coffee? Yamcha could always break out the old scrapbooking materials Bulma convinced him to get into and make him a bookmark. Cookies were always good, but he'd probably have to make sure he didn't have any allergies.

He had to work fast. The exchange was set to start on Monday, so he only had the weekend to figure things out. Yamcha buried his face in his hands and groaned. And of course, because it was Tien, he had an extra layer of his _big dumb stupid crush_ to deal with. He had to do a good job. Even if Tien never liked him back, he had to impress him. Yamcha knew he wouldn't put this much effort into the Secret Santa if it wasn't for his crush, but it wasn't like he could just stop himself from feeling the way he did.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he jumped, looking up to see his boss standing over him. "You alright?" she asked. "Not like you to be moping around."

"Sorry, Higashi." Yamcha sat up straighter and tried to focus on his work. He'd been making an advertisement for their senior's computer class, right?

"Don't be sorry." Higashi put her hands on her plump hips and tilted her head as she looked at him. "You're distracted by something."

Yamcha laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "That obvious, huh?"

"I _told_ you that silly Secret Santa thing of Bulma's was a bad idea." She shook her head and shrugged. "All it's going to do is distract people."

Yamcha kept his mouth shut and went back to work, hoping that if Higashi saw him working hard she'd leave him alone.

~~~

Sneaking candy canes into the Circulation department was easier said than done, because Tien's boss was always around and hyperaware of everything happening all the time. In the end, Yamcha had to pretend he was there to get something for a program Higashi was running and ended up with an armload of books he didn't need, more puns than he knew what to do with from the Circulation head, and several sympathetic looks from Chiaotzu. He trudged back up to the Information Services department, exhausted despite the fact that he was only an hour into his shift.

Higashi raised an eyebrow at him from behind the desk when he came up the stairs. "What happened to you?"

"Kita's puns," he explained, dumping his books on the desk. "Remind me to bring those back down in a few hours."

She laughed and shook her head. "You probably could've just told him you were there for Secret Santa reasons."

"Are you kidding? Kita can't keep a secret to save his life." Yamcha leaned over the desk. "It'd be all over the library before I even got back upstairs." His gaze caught a cup of coffee at Higashi's elbow. "I thought you didn't drink coffee."

"Oh, this? Someone brought it by for you." She handed it up to him with a wink. "But I'm better at keeping secrets than Kita, so I'm not telling who it was."

Grinning, Yamcha raised the cup to his lips. Whoever it was had even put the extra sugar he liked in it. At least he was getting _something_ good out of this exchange.

~~~

It was easier to find an excuse to get into Circulation the next day. Yamcha simply "forgot" to return "Higashi's" books from the day before and brought them down, insisting on putting them on the cart himself in an effort to get into the back office. Tien wasn't there, and Yamcha felt a stab of guilt when he realised he'd probably be waiting for him in the staff room. They were lucky(?) enough to have their morning breaks at the same time every day, so they always spent it together, laughing about the terrible coffee Pilaf had made that morning or swapping stories of awful patrons. He'd have to make it up to him afterwards, but surely he'd understand later when Yamcha revealed he was his Secret Santa.

Tien had left his own personal book on a desk--one Yamcha had seen him with before, _Wolf at the Door of His Heart_. He counted himself lucky that Tien hadn't taken it with him on his break and snatched it up to stick his homemade bookmark inside.

He paused, curiosity making his fingers itch. Tien always refused to tell him what _Wolf at the Door_ was about when Yamcha asked. Now would be a good time to find out. Flipping the book over, Yamcha scanned the summary on the back.

And then scanned it again.

After reading it a third time, his cheeks flushed as he realised that yes, Tien was carting a gay werewolf romance novel around the library. An _explicit_ gay werewolf romance novel, if the synopsis was anything to go by. He quickly dropped it back on the desk and scuttled back to his desk, mortified. He felt like he'd been caught doing something wrong, which was ridiculous--it wasn't like it was _his_ gay werewolf porn that he'd just left out for anyone to see. God, Kita would have a field day if he found out Tien brought _gay werewolf porn_ to work. And Yamcha couldn't say anything about it to him without giving away that he was snooping.

On the other hand, it was an indication that Tien probably liked men, at any rate. But other than that, it was the absolute worst thing that had happened to Yamcha all week.

~~~

"Are you avoiding me?"

Yamcha flinched and looked up from his work at Tien's voice. He was leaning over the desk, staring down at Yamcha with his blank customer service face. Yamcha swallowed. He hated when Tien gave him that look. It always meant he was hiding something from him, and he didn't like it when Tien kept secrets. "No," he lied. It wasn't a _total_ lie; he hadn't been avoiding Tien initially. It had just worked out that he'd go give Tien his Secret Santa gifts during their shared break, because he knew Tien wouldn't be in the office at that time. Sure, the first day had meant he'd missed his whole break because of Kita and his damn puns, but it had been a small sacrifice.

The next two days, on the other hand...yeah, he'd definitely avoided Tien.

He just wasn't sure he could talk to him without thinking about _Wolf at the Door of His Heart_. He wanted to ask him about it--tease him, poke some gentle fun, ask if he liked men... _like that_. But he couldn't do that without revealing he was Tien's Secret Santa and probably making a giant fool of himself, and he was afraid that if he talked to him at all he'd make an idiot out of himself anyway.

"You've missed three of our breaks in a row." Tien eyed the door to the Information Services office. "Higashi's not making you change your breaks, is she?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Yamcha reassured him. "Stuff's just come up. I've been really busy lately and I keep taking my breaks at weird times." It sounded plausible enough. Hopefully Kita and Chiaotzu hadn't told Tien about how much time Yamcha was spending in Circulation when Tien wasn't there or it'd never work.

Thankfully, Tien nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. You...promise you're not avoiding me?"

His voice sounded so _small_. Yamcha swallowed and stamped down his impulse to reach out for physical comfort. "I promise." It would only be another two days, anyway.

~~~

There were flowers at the Information Services computer with Yamcha's name on them when Yamcha got to work on Thursday morning. Higashi was clearly a little jealous, and Yamcha kept them close all day. They were huge and orange and gaudy and he _loved_ them. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had bought him flowers. He'd have to thank his Secret Santa for them in particular--the free coffee on his breaks were nice and all, but flowers were something you really had to go out of your way to get, especially in December.

He still had his own thing to do for Tien, though, so he snuck down to Circulation as quickly as he could and hid a small bottle of the balsamic salad dressing Tien liked next to one of the computers. Taking the stairs two at a time, he was able to actually make it to the staff room a whole ten minutes before the end of his break.

Tien raised an eyebrow at him. "You okay?"

Yamcha held up a finger, doubled over and wheezing. "I just spent half the morning running up and down the stairs doing errands for Higashi." Another lie, but at least a plausible one--Yamcha felt more like a gofer than actual clerical staff some days.

Tien laughed and Yamcha felt a lightness in his chest. God, Tien was so _cute_. "At least you actually got here today, though, right?"

Yamcha wrung his hands and smiled, willing himself not to blush. "I'm glad I did," he said quietly.

Tien blinked, then smiled back, cheeks just a little pink. "Me too."

And Yamcha resolved then and there that he'd tell Tien he liked him at the staff party tomorrow.

~~~

Yamcha clutched his gift in his sweaty hands and shuffled in the snow on the porch. It had snowed the night before, covering the world in a thin white blanket--not much, just enough to say it had snowed. Bulma had "graciously" volunteered to host the staff holiday party at her parents' place, a huge estate in the rich part of West City. She said her parents wouldn't mind, and Yamcha had met them several times and knew that they wouldn't, but he still felt weird just walking into the house now that he wasn't dating their daughter. So he waited on the porch after ringing the doorbell, hoping someone other than Bulma would answer the door. He didn't think he could deal with her right now.

And okay, maybe he was also trying to avoid the inevitable confrontation with Tien. Ever since he'd decided he was going to finally ask Tien out, he'd been a huge mess of nerves. He hadn't been this nervous since he and Bulma first started dating. It wasn't a feeling he was particularly happy to revisit. But he was determined. He was going to do it.

The door opened and despite his hopes it was Bulma on the other side. She grimaced at him, but let him in anyway. He grimaced right back and kicked his boots into their usual spot on the mud room's boot tray. He'd almost said he wouldn't come to the staff party when he found out Bulma would be hosting, but Tien had said he'd go if Yamcha and Chiaotzu did, so here he was.

Bulma propped her hands on her hips and sighed. "Well, you know where everything is. Ask Mom if you need anything." She ushered him into the main living room before disappearing again, probably to do some kind of hostess thing.

Yamcha stood awkwardly in the middle of the room for a moment, taking stock of the party so far. He'd actually arrived a little early, wanting to get there before Tien, but thankfully wasn't the first one there. Lapis, Lazuli, and Lazurite, three new hires in IT and Maintenance, were taking up the entire couch. Lapis had a plate full of tiny appetizers already, and Yamcha's stomach growled. He would _kill_ for Bulma's mother's mini quiches right now.

Lazurite nodded at him from the middle of the couch. Yamcha nodded back, trying not to look too uncomfortable. There was something weirdly unsettling about Lazurite, despite the fact that he was one of the nicest people Yamcha had ever met. It was probably just how stoic and stony his face was.

"Hey," Lapis said, leaning back against the arm of the couch, his feet in Lazurite's lap. "What's up, nerd?"

Yamcha wasn't too sure how to take that, so he just nodded. "Uh, fine. You?" He had no idea how to talk to Lapis. He never called IT and didn't know anything about him or Lazuli other than the fact that they were twins, but that was pretty obvious to anyone who so much as looked at them.

"Livin' the dream," Lapis grinned. He waved a sausage roll at Yamcha. "Fuck dinner, can I just have a plate of these?"

Yamcha laughed. "Mrs. Briefs's cooking is pretty much the best."

Lazuli abruptly stood up and moved to an armchair. "Aw, c'mon back," Lapis whined.

"Screw you. I'm not dealing with your stinky feet in my face anymore."

Lapis pouted. "My feet aren't stinky." He looked pleadingly up at Lazurite. "Laz, tell her my feet aren't stinky."

Lazurite shook his head. "I cannot do that. Your feet are the worst."

Yamcha filled a plate and awkwardly took up a place at the wall. Normally he was a very social person, but these three seemed like they had a pretty tight-knit group. He didn't really have anything to add to the conversation.

He knew he shouldn't have agreed to any of this--the staff party, the Secret Santa, none of it. Now he was standing in his ex-girlfriend's living room with a bunch of people he didn't know, waiting nervously to tell his Secret Santa that he had a crush on him. This was definitely a top contender for one of the worst days of Yamcha's life.

"Mind if I join you?"

Yamcha jumped. He hadn't even heard Tien come in, let alone walk right up to him and lean against the wall next to him. "Y-yeah, no problem." He hoped he wasn't blushing too badly. This was _awful_. "You should grab some appetizers before Lapis eats them all."

Tien shrugged. "Not hungry. Hey, by the way, I have to tell you about this guy who came to Circ today."

They slipped into easy conversation after that, and Yamcha let himself be lulled into security. It was just like it had been for months now--Tien was easy to talk to, there was nothing weird or wrong happening at all. Nothing except his heart hammering in his chest, a growing part of himself begging for him to blurt it out and get it over with already. Other than that, everything was fine.

"Okay!" Yamcha looked over at Bulma as she addressed the crowd. "If anyone's got a Secret Santa gift to give, now's the time!"

Yamcha took a breath and turned back to Tien, but he was gone, across the room talking to Vegeta. He shuddered. That had probably been hell for Tien--having to do nice stuff for Vegeta for a whole week. Yamcha wasn't sure what had happened there, but he knew Tien absolutely despised Vegeta.

Sure enough, he basically said a few words, shoved a gift bag at Vegeta, and immediately came back over to Yamcha. Yamcha raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. "So how did that go?" he asked innocently.

Tien grimaced. "At least he wasn't actually my Secret Santa. If I'd had to do nice things for Vegeta all week I might've thrown up."

Yamcha blinked. "Then why--"

"Chiaotzu had him," Tien explained. "But he got sick this morning, so I said I'd give Vegeta his last present and collect his gift from whoever had him." He handed a small, badly wrapped box to Yamcha. "You're my Secret Santa this year."

Yamcha tore open the gift, laughing when it turned out to be a box of his favourite microwave popcorn. "So...you're the one who gave me those flowers?"

"Oh geez." Tien buried his face in his hands. "I thought about giving you those today but I didn't want anyone to see me doing it or I would've died from embarrassment."

Yamcha's chest fluttered. A guy as big and bulky as Tien had no right being so _adorable_. "Well, I loved them. Thank you."

Tien peeked up at him, face red. "No problem. I'm glad."

Yamcha rubbed his thumb over a loose flap in his wrapping paper. It was now or never. "Tien, can I tell you something?"

He stood up straight, looking quizzically at Yamcha. "Sure."

This was it. Yamcha was going to tell Tien he liked him, and damn the consequences. He opened his mouth, closed it, swallowed, and tried again, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"Well, merry Christmas," he blurted, holding out his gift.

Tien's eyes widened. "You...you're mine?"

 _Always,_ Yamcha wanted to say, but he just couldn't. "Y-yeah. I hope it's okay."

Tien gingerly took the gift, staring at it in awe like no one had ever given him anything before. "Wow. Thanks." He looked back up at Yamcha. "Can I open it now?"

Yamcha waved him off. "Knock yourself out."

Tien carefully unwrapped it, immediately turning red and hugging the unwrapped book to his chest. "B-but--oh God you know," he stammered.

Grinning weakly, Yamcha shoved his hands in his pockets. "I found the author of _Wolf at the Door of His Heart_. This is his latest book."

"But--you _saw_ what kind of book _Wolf at the Door_ is, right?" Tien asked cautiously. "I mean, you stuck a bookmark in it, so--"

"Yeah, I saw." Yamcha rubbed his nose. "Little weird to be bringing that kinda thing to work, don't you think?"

Tien looked mortified. "Don't tell Kita."

"Then stop leaving it around," Yamcha teased. "But, uh, the new one? Is it okay? I didn't really look at it."

Tien nodded quickly, looking fondly at the book. "I've been looking forward to this book for months." He frowned. "Now I feel like my popcorn is inadequate."

"Aw, don't feel bad." Yamcha preened. "I'm just the king of gifts."

Tien laughed, and the weight that settled in Yamcha's chest when he realised he couldn't tell Tien his feelings lifted a little. Even if he couldn't tell Tien how he felt, at least he had this.

**Author's Note:**

> If you walked away from this going "CONSARNIT YAMCHA USE YOUR STINKIN' WORDS" then you know a little bit of what Bulma's life has been like for the last three years before Tien and Yamcha start dating in the fic proper.
> 
> Special thanks to Tiedyed Trickster for _Wolf at the Door of His Heart_ <3
> 
> Here's the full Secret Santa list:  
> -Bulma > Lapis  
> -Vegeta > Raditz  
> -Krillin > Lazuli  
> -Pilaf > Chiaotzu  
> -Mai > Agnes  
> -Chiaotzu > Vegeta  
> -Agnes > Pilaf  
> -Raditz > Krillin  
> -Nappa > Mai  
> -Lapis > Bulma  
> -Lazuli > Lazurite  
> -Lazurite > Nappa  
> -Yamcha > Tien  
> -Tien > Yamcha
> 
> (For anyone wondering Krillin's gifts to Lazuli were mostly flowers and coffee, and she loved all of them)


End file.
